Jamaica, one of the largest Caribbean islands, was inhabited by Arawak natives. When Christopher Columbus arrived on the island in 1494, he claimed the land for Spain. Just a few decades after Columbus' death almost all Arawaks had been exterminated. Spain held the island against many buccaneer raids at the main city- now called Spanish Town. Eventually England claimed the island in a raid, but the Spanish did not relinquish their claim to the island until 1670.
Jamaica became a base of operations for pirates, including Captain Henry Morgan. In return these buccaneers kept the other colonial powers from attacking the island. Africans were captured, kidnapped, and forced into slavery to work on plantations when sugarcane became the most important export on the island.
Many slaves arrived in Jamaica via the Atlantic slave trade, and during the same time enslaved Africans arrived in North America. During this time there was racial tension, and Jamaica had one of the highest instances of slave uprisings of any Caribbean island. After the British crown abolished slavery, the Jamaicans began working toward independence which was achieved in 1962.
Jamaica was inhabited by Arawak Indians when Columbus explored it in 1494 and named it St. Iago. It remained under Spanish rule until 1655, when it became British. Buccaneers operated from Port Royal until it fell into the sea in an earthquake in 1692.
Eventually, disease decimated the Arawaks, so black slaves were imported to work on the sugar plantations until abolition of the slave trade in 1807, emancipation of the slaves in 1833, and a drop in sugar prices eventually led to a depression that resulted in an uprising in 1865. The following year Jamaica became a Crown colony, and conditions improved considerably. Introduction of bananas reduced dependence on sugar.
On May 5, 1953, Jamaica gained internal autonomy, and, in 1958 headed up the organisation of the West Indies Federation. A nationalist labour leader, Sir Alexander Bustamente, later campaigned to withdraw from the federation. After a referendum, Jamaica became independent on Aug. 6, 1962. Michael Manley, of the socialist People's National Party, became prime minister in 1972.
Nowadays, it is a welcoming destination populated with warm, friendly people that you'll often see smiling, dancing, laughing and celebrating. A nation whose long struggle through slavery and towards independence has made proud, strong and resilient, and whose rich culture is now embraced and celebrated all around the world.
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